Stacking sterling silver

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AllSeasons
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Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2021 2:35 pm

Stacking sterling silver

Post by AllSeasons »

I've been stacking sterling silver since July of 2021. I know most stackers stack .999 silver rounds, bars, or even constitutional silver (in the US). But the premiums over spot on those items are through the roof right now, and probably won't be coming down anytime soon. So I made a decision at the time to stack sterling instead, because at the end of the day, .925 silver is still silver, right? It was also because I could get sterling for a much cheaper price (often below spot), even after accounting for the purity difference.

There're downsides of course. With rounds, bars, and especially junk silver, you have a lot more flexibility in terms of bartering, or converting back into foldable money. They are also more recognized and divisible, in the sense that it's more difficult to trade a sterling fork for a bag of flour or a dozen eggs, vs. using a silver dime/quarter. Granted, it would be a very sad day when I'd have to trade sterling for food, but I would need to find a way to feed my family somehow if an economic catastrophe like that happened.

But right now, the pieces are safely packed away and stored. I do not intend to melt them down or anything, because there is definitely historical value in all of them. If anything, they tell stories about their previous owners.

So my question is, do you think it make sense to stack sterling? It may be subjective and different for everyone, but wanted to get your thoughts.

Cheers!
oel
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Re: Stacking sterling silver

Post by oel »

If you feel comfortable by stacking old scrap silver items as investment. I see no harm in it. I prefer to buy collectable silver for the pleasure of using and to enjoy its beauty. Indeed also for investment and its intrinsic value.
The moment we (have to) sell the collection will be the moment of truth. Has it been a wise investment?

Cheers to,

Peter.
amena
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Re: Stacking sterling silver

Post by amena »

It is almost never a good investment to buy collectible silver, hoping to earn money by reselling it one day, because antique dealers buy it at a very low price compared to what they resell it.
Instead, it is money well spent buying collectible silver to use it, touch it, admire it.
If you lose some money by reselling it, you must think that it is fair to pay something for the enjoyment it has given you for a good amount of time.
Best
Amena
oel
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Re: Stacking sterling silver

Post by oel »

Well said, Indeed there is value in the enjoyment. To collectors, the study and knowledge of hallmarks, silver styles has its benefits and joyful moments. Antique dealer, we do not depend on only. Thanks to the internet and online auction sites world wide, collectors can recognize the true value of a "sleeper" or wrongly described collectable items and bid for it or not. To sell we can use the same online sites, give correct information and ask for a fair auction price. The bullion price and scrap metal prices, the past performance is no guarantee for the future.
More speculation, and less enjoyment.

Peter.
AllSeasons
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Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2021 2:35 pm

Re: Stacking sterling silver

Post by AllSeasons »

Thank you for the replies. Just to clarify, I'm most likely never selling this silver; maybe I'll pass them down to my kids one day. They're still little, but let's just hope they won't end up selling it for some quick cash! In reality, this all started when my wife wanted me to put away some hard currency, i.e. silver and gold, in case the world went to heck, which it kind of has. In the event of that kind of (economic) catastrophe, we would use this silver to barter for food maybe, though it would be hard to barter away this beautiful silver for sure! Also, it may be hard to trade a salt shaker for some bacon and eggs when the time comes. Anyway, here's to hoping that that day never comes. In the meantime, I will just admire the beauty of the antique silver. The craftsmanship from those days is still amazing, which is a lost art, unfortunately. Granted I don't have many intricate pieces at all, but it's still easy to see.

Also, I don't understand people who melt down old silver. Every piece of old silver you melt down, you lose a little bit of history with it. It's sometimes interesting to imagine the people who used to have this silver and what their lives were like - must've been some rich people for sure at the time.

Cheers!
AG2012
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Re: Stacking sterling silver

Post by AG2012 »

Hi,
Hesitated to answer but this is the reality:
1. WW II in occupied areas; no food in cities, flour and meat was traded for gold and diamonds. In a word, jewelry. Peasants who had food were not interested in silver.
2. Behind iron curtain, countries occupied by Soviet Union: hard currency and jeans, leather etc. exchanged for silver and gold, then risking custom officials searching for anything forbidden to export; endless list. University professor of cardiology in Poland worked for $ 30 a month. Heavy gauge German silver sugar bowl 13 loth bought for $ 60.
3. Unfortunately, gold is very expensive now. Vreneli 20 Swiss francs was over DM 200 in eighties, then fell to DM 100 in 90`, now Euro 250. Meaning, wait for a couple of decades for gold to fall, buy and stack gold coins. Unfortunately, life is too short.
Regards
AllSeasons
Posts: 265
Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2021 2:35 pm

Re: Stacking sterling silver

Post by AllSeasons »

AG2012 wrote:Hi,
Hesitated to answer but this is the reality:
1. WW II in occupied areas; no food in cities, flour and meat was traded for gold and diamonds. In a word, jewelry. Peasants who had food were not interested in silver.
2. Behind iron curtain, countries occupied by Soviet Union: hard currency and jeans, leather etc. exchanged for silver and gold, then risking custom officials searching for anything forbidden to export; endless list. University professor of cardiology in Poland worked for $ 30 a month. Heavy gauge German silver sugar bowl 13 loth bought for $ 60.
3. Unfortunately, gold is very expensive now. Vreneli 20 Swiss francs was over DM 200 in eighties, then fell to DM 100 in 90`, now Euro 250. Meaning, wait for a couple of decades for gold to fall, buy and stack gold coins. Unfortunately, life is too short.
Regards
Yes, I agree that in the situations you described, silver would not get you very much. In those catastrophic times, the only things that matter are food, water, shelter, medicine, protection, etc. In times of famine, people wouldn't trade their last loaf of bread for its weight in gold.

What I was referring to are somewhat less desperate times, namely in times of things like hyperinflation. So similar to current situations in Turkey, Lebanon, Venezuela, etc. I've heard people have started using gold again to barter for things in Venezuela. I think at the end of the day, silver and gold have been used as money for 5,000 years; whereas fiat currency has only been a science experiment for a much shorter time. But regardless of whether it's previous metals or fiat money, governments have no qualms about debasing either.

The US government - and governments around the world - have been printing money (or creating 0's and 1's in a computer) like crazy. It's amazing that the US dollar has still retained its reserve currency status. But older governments like the Roman Empire and the Chinese Song Dynasty did the same thing and ended up collapsing. The Roman Emperors debased the Denarius by making them increasingly smaller and with cheaper metals, to fund wars with the barbarians. The Song Dynasty invented paper money, but ended up debasing it so much that it eventually became worthless. You have plenty of examples in history that speak to this.

To quote Peter Schiff, we're in the late stage in the current debt cycle. Honestly, I think it's wise for anyone to protect them and their families with some precious metals, just in case stuff hits the fan. All the billionaires do it; I think the Rothschilds have like 1-2% of their net worth in gold. Americans unfortunately own very little gold or silver in comparison; whereas countries like India and China are all about gold.

Anyway, sorry for the rant, but these are certainly interesting times we live in.
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